Page 373 - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Article 11.2: Scope of Intellectual Property protection than is required by this Chapter, provided that such protection
does not contravene this Chapter. Each Party shall be free to determine
For the purposes of this Chapter, “intellectual property” means copyright the appropriate method of implementing this Chapter within its own legal
and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial system and practice.
designs, patents, layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits,
protection of plant varieties, and protection of undisclosed information,
as referred to in Sections 1 through 7 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement. Article 11.6: Exhaustion of Intellectual Property Rights

Each Party shall be free to establish its own regime for exhaustion of
1
Article 11.3: Relation to Other Agreements intellectual property rights.

In relation to intellectual property, in the event of any inconsistency
between a provision of this Chapter and a provision of the TRIPS Article 11.7: National Treatment
Agreement, the latter shall prevail to the extent of such inconsistency.
3
1. Each Party shall accord to the nationals of other Parties
treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own
4
Article 11.4: Principles nationals with regard to the protection of intellectual property,
subject to the exceptions provided in the TRIPS Agreement and
1. A Party may, in formulating or amending its laws and regulations, in the multilateral agreements administered by the World
adopt measures necessary to protect public health and nutrition Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as
and to promote the public interest in sectors of vital importance to “WIPO” in this Chapter), to which that Party is party.
its socio-economic and technological development, provided that
such measures are consistent with this Chapter. 2. A Party may avail itself of the exceptions referred to in paragraph
1 in relation to its judicial and administrative procedures, including
2. Appropriate measures, provided that they are consistent with this requiring a national of another Party to designate an address for
Chapter, may be needed to prevent the abuse of intellectual service of process in its territory, or to appoint an agent in its
property rights by right holders or the resort to practices which territory, only where such exceptions are:
unreasonably restrain trade or adversely affect the international
transfer of technology.
2

3 For the purposes of this paragraph, a “national” of a Party shall include, in respect of
3. Further to paragraph 2, the Parties recognise the need to foster the relevant right, any person as defined in subparagraph (t) of Article 1.2 (General
competition. Definitions) of that Party that would meet the criteria for eligibility for protection provided
for in the agreements listed in Article 11.9 (Multilateral Agreements) and the TRIPS
Agreement.
Article 11.5: Obligations 4 For the purposes of this paragraph, “protection” includes matters affecting the
availability, acquisition, scope, maintenance, and enforcement of intellectual property
Each Party shall give effect to the provisions of this Chapter. A Party rights as well as matters affecting the use of intellectual property rights specifically
may, but shall not be obliged to, implement in its law more extensive covered by this Chapter.

Further, for the purposes of this paragraph, “protection” also includes the provisions
1 For the purposes of the application of this Article, the Parties agree that the fact that concerning:
this Chapter provides for more extensive protection of intellectual property than is
required by the TRIPS Agreement does not mean there is an inconsistency within the (a) effective technological measures set out in Article 11.14
meaning of this Article and paragraph 2 of Article 20.2 (Relation to Other Agreements). (Circumvention of Effective Technological Measures); and

2 The Parties recognise that intellectual property rights by themselves do not (b) rights management information set out in Article 11.15 (Protection for
necessarily confer market dominance. Electronic Rights Management Information).

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